Jordan\u2019s Foreign Ministry, in a statement, called on the international community to \u201cassume its legal and moral responsibilities, and to compel Israel, the occupying power, to stop its dangerous escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin lauded the decision, saying it will create legal certainty in the territory and protect the national interest.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20251104__82YK97G__v1__HighRes__PalestinianIsraelConflict-1-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tA Palestinian man plows a small field in an olive grove in the West Bank on November 4, 2025. (John Wessels\/ AFP)<\/p>\n
The cabinet decision follows a controversial decision<\/a> by the security cabinet last week that expanded Israeli oversight and enforcement activities into areas A and B of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority has military or civilian control, and enabled private Israeli citizens to buy land in the territory, something not previously possible.<\/p>\n Up until 1967, only about one-third of all land in the West Bank was formally registered in land registration processes conducted during the period of the British Mandate and then under Jordanian control from 1949 to 1967.<\/p>\n Israel halted that process in 1968, a year after it captured the West Bank, and it has never resumed until now.<\/p>\n The new registration process will only take place in Area C, which constitutes some 60% of the entire territory and where, like the rest of the West Bank, some two-thirds of the land is not formally registered.<\/p>\n The Oslo Accords Israel and the PA signed in the 1990s placed Area C under Israeli security and administrative control, but they stated that the territory should be gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction.<\/p>\n While stopping short of formally annexing the entire territory amid opposition from US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government has passed a slew of measures aimed at cementing Israel\u2019s control over Area C \u2014 along with other parts of the West Bank.<\/p>\n The terms of the cabinet resolution initiated by the defense, finance, and justice ministers instructed the commander of the IDF\u2019s Central Command \u2014 the de facto military governor of the West Bank \u2014 to authorize the Land Registry department in the Justice Ministry to carry out the land registration process.\u2028The Land Registry will establish a land settlement directorate to conduct the work.<\/p>\n Along with the initial budget of NIS 244 million for the next four years, 35 new positions will be created in the Justice Ministry, the Survey of Israel mapping agency, the Defense Ministry, and its Civil Administration department to carry out the work.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThis matter is consistent with the needs of the area, particularly in light of the passage of time and the uncertainty that has arisen with respect to some locations, while respecting local law to the extent possible,\u201d the resolution stated.<\/p>\n It also said that the process came to counter a similar land registration process being conducted by the Palestinian Authority, including in Area C, which it said the PA was barred from carrying out under the terms of agreements signed with Israel.<\/p>\n The Peace Now and Yesh Din organizations, which campaign against the settlement movement, denounced the decision, saying it was another step in Israel\u2019s de facto annexation of the West Bank, with the former appealing directly to US President Donald Trump to halt the move.<\/p>\n A source in Peace Now said that although in theory there could be a fair and objective land registration process for all parties in the West Bank, it would be very hard under current conditions and regulations for Palestinians to prove and assert their ownership claims.<\/p>\n The source said this shift would likely lead to the declaration of hundreds of thousands of dunams of land in the territory as state land, meaning it will be available to Israel for the development of settlements, infrastructure, and transportation.<\/p>\n While state land is supposed to be managed for the benefit of all civilians, Israel makes it available almost exclusively<\/a> for settlers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government has approved a massive land grab in the West Bank on the way to de facto annexation, in complete contradiction to the will of the people and the Israeli interest,\u201d Peace Now said, in response to the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are warning President Trump \u2014 Netanyahu is deceiving you. You said you would not allow annexation, but he is annexing right under your nose.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/F250731WH53-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tEfrat, Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, July 31, 2025. (Wisam Hashlamoun\/Flash90)<\/p>\n